Family memories at the Y

Mark Bailey has fond memories of the St. Augustine Family YMCA, once housed in a brick building on Valencia Street.

"I would spend my whole day there," said Bailey.

He remembers playing basketball, rollerskating and swimming in the pool. The whole Bailey family attended, swimming and taking Judo lessons.

Today his four children are creating their own memories at the Pope Road facility, which opened in 1984 on Anastasia Island.

His 13-year-old son Brooks and 15-year-old son Mark play on the basketball league as does his 7-year-old daughter, Cassidy. His 3-year-old daughter, Peyton, spends time in the Kids Zone, a play area designed for children.

click photo to enlarge

This photo was taken at the old YMCA facility on Valencia Street.

Special to The Record

"I think my kids will look back on their experiences at the Y as I do," he said. "It's a neat family environment."

As the YMCA gets ready to celebrate 150 years in existence and as St. Johns County continues to grow, outgoing board president Matt Jeffs hopes one day a YMCA will once again return to the mainland to serve the growing southern corridor and West Augustine.

He said that was one of his missions as board president for two years.

What followed was a feasibility study that explored how the idea of opening a new YMCA Family Center would be received in the community.

The study was completed in February 2001, and reflected a total of 600 telephone interviews.

"I wanted to see how we could better serve the southern corridor and West Augustine," said Jeffs.

Results from the feasibility study indicated that residents preferred a location of a YMCA at State Road 312 and State Road 207.

The Lewis Point Road/Old Moultrie Road location was also considered in the study.

In the study's executive summary, it stated that the opening of a new family facility on the mainland at either of the two proposed locations will generate significantly larger numbers of members than the Pope Road facility has achieved. It also stated that a new YMCA at S.R. 312 and S.R. 207 would generate 3,300 membership units compared to 1,870 estimated at the Lewis Point Road/Old Moultrie Road site.

What is needed, said Jeffs, is a year-round aquatic center. Jeffs said he would like to see something comparable to the aquatic center at a YMCA in Orlando where a steel building with a retractable roof is used.

Brian James, Willie Galimore Recreation Center supervisor, said another facility with a pool in a centrally-located area on the mainland would be helpful.

"Ours is the only public pool in the county," he said. "It's gets pretty hectic here, especially in the summer."

Jeffs said after the study was completed, it was determined that there are more needy YMCAs in the association that will see expansion before St. Johns County.

However, it remains a future goal for local officials.

Bailey sits on the board of directors and was the chairman at one time. He was a part of the campaign in the 80s to open the Pope Road YMCA.

At that time, they had 30 families as members and needed 1,000 to support the new place.

"There was a lot of concern," he said.

Bailey said the board worked hard to market the YMCA to the community, and that effort paid off with more than 1,000 families quickly joining. Today there are 1,025 units enrolled as members as the YMCA continues to grow.

"It went straight up," he said.

The Valencia Street YMCA served a certain population that may not find the Pope Road location as easily accessible, he said.

However, Bailey said the YMCA has held swimming lessons at the Willie Galimore Recreation Center off Riberia Street, sets up programs at schools and buses children to the Pope Road facility in outreach programs, especially in the summer.

He said growth will dictate the timing of a mainland expansion. Right now is not the right timing because of the economy and the gyms in the area that would present competition for a mainland YMCA, he said.

Bailey said he would rather concentrate on outreach programs for now.

Tammy Miller, YMCA director, said the YMCA works with St. Johns County's Recreation Department to provide free swimming lessons to children who attend the Calvin Peete Park County Recreation Summer Program. That is the Ys effort to reach out to the children of West Augustine, she said. Afterschool programs are run by the YMCA at Hartley Elementary, Webster and Osceola Elementary schools. Children from R.B. Hunt Elementary School are bused to the YMCA.

Miller said the YMCA just purchased a bus that is being painted and will be used for transportation. Summer camps are held by the YMCA at Pope Road and at the Riverview Club in St. Augustine Shores.

Miller said it is also a part of the Y's Christian mission to provide program and membership assistance to those in need. That is done through the YMCA's Really Caring Annual Support Campaign and the United Way. This past year, the campaign gave away $106,000.

"That's how we give back to the community," she said. "It's always been a community and family organization. It will always be recreational programming for kids and families."